Eminem Show

On his third consecutive gem, Eminem taps into his Detroit Rock City roots and unleashes his inner White Panther, delivering his most abrasive collection of songs to date. The Eminem Show, produced largely by Em himself, finds the formerly Shady one letting go of the cartoonish thump he perfected with Dr. Dre in favor of a grittier sound befitting an artist who/i>…
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Overview

On his third consecutive gem, Eminem taps into his Detroit Rock City roots and unleashes his inner White Panther, delivering his most abrasive collection of songs to date. The Eminem Show, produced largely by Em himself, finds the formerly Shady one letting go of the cartoonish thump he perfected with Dr. Dre in favor of a grittier sound befitting an artist who shares a hometown with Iggy Pop and the MC5. What hasn't changed, however, are his venomous lyrical assaults, and along with his perennial targets (his mom and his ex), new casualties include hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri, 'N Sync's Chris Kirkpatrick, dance music wiz Moby, and Vice President Dick Cheney's wife. And while fans are accustomed to Mr. Mathers bashing both public and private citizens, mixed in with the latest chapters in his screed is some of the most candidly raw rhetoric of his short but momentous career. Tracks such as "Cleanin' Out My Closet" and the ballad "Hailie's Song," where Em makes a noble yet off-kilter attempt at singing, are examples of the artist's ever-intensifying reality theater, while "White America" and "Till I Collapse" display his newfound mastery of rap-rock fusion. Although they'll probably receive the most hype, "Sing for the Moment," a remake of the Aerosmith lighter anthem "Dream On," and the lead single, "Without Me," pale in comparison to show-stoppers such as the swinging "Square Dance" and "My Dad's Gone Crazy," quite possibly the funniest song in the Em canon. Forget the real Slim Shady -- The Eminem Show presents the real Eminem standing up front-and-center.

Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine

It's all about the title. First time around, Eminem established his alter ego, Slim Shady -- the character who deliberately shocked and offended millions, turning Eminem into a star. Second time at bat, he turned out The Marshall Mathers LP, delving deeper into his past while revealing complexity as an artist and a personality that helped bring him an even greater audience and much, much more controversy. Third time around, it's The Eminem Show -- a title that signals that Eminem's public persona is front and center, for the very first time. And it is, as he spends much of the album commenting on the media circus that dominated on his life ever since the release of Marshall Mathers. This, of course, encompasses many, many familiar subjects -- his troubled childhood; his hatred of his parents; his turbulent relationship with his ex-wife, Kim (including the notorious incident when he assaulted a guy who allegedly kissed her -- the event that led to their divorce); his love of his daughter, Hailie; and, of course, all the controversy he generated, notably the furor over his alleged homophobia and his scolding from Lynne Cheney, which leads to furious criticism about the hypocrisy of America and its government. All this is married to a production very similar to that of its predecessor -- spare, funky, fluid, and vibrant, punctuated with a couple of ballads along the way. So, that means The Eminem Show is essentially a holding pattern, but it's a glorious one -- one that proves Eminem is the gold standard in pop music in 2002, delivering stylish, catchy, dense, funny, political music that rarely panders (apart from a power ballad "Dream On" rewrite on "Sing for the Moment" and maybe the sex rap "Drips," that is). Even if there is little new ground broken, the presentation is exceptional -- Dre never sounds better as a producer than when Eminem pushes him forward (witness the stunning oddity "Square Dance," a left-field classic with an ominous waltz beat) and, with three albums under his belt, Eminem has proven himself to be one of the all-time classic MCs, surprising as much with his delivery as with what he says. Plus, the undercurrent of political anger -- not just attacking Lynne Cheney, but raising questions about the Bush administration -- gives depth to his typical topics, adding a new, spirited dimension to his shock tactics as notable as the deep sentimental streak he reveals on his odes to his daughter. Perhaps the album runs a little too long at 20 songs and 80 minutes and would have flowed better if trimmed by 25 minutes, but that's a typical complaint about modern hip-hop records. Fact is, it still delivers more great music than most of its peers in rock or rap, and is further proof that Eminem is an artist of considerable range and dimension.

New York Times - Neil Strauss

In many ways The Eminem Showdoesn't need a review, because the thin-skinned Eminem offers his own running commentary on the album, with lyrics like "my insecurities could eat me alive." He rates his own vocal prowess when he tries to sing a ballad in "Hailie's Song": "I can't sing," he says at the end of the track. "Oh well, I tried." On the album's first song, "White America," he analyzes the phenomenon that is himself, theorizing that suburban teenagers connected with him because he looked like them, which worried parents.

Rolling Stone

The Eminem Show, which he largely produced himself, is proof of an evolved Eminem. More than ever, he's an artist in control of his skills and his persona, and ready for the controversy that follows him closer than a pack of groupies. As he raps in "Without Me," "The FCC won't let me be and let me be me/ So let me see/ They tried to shut me down on MTV, but it feels so empty without me." Anthony Bozza

MTV News

Many of the tracks on The Eminem Show were primarily self-produced, resulting in an LP that sounds more rock than g-funk. And unlike The Marshall Mathers LP, The Eminem Show finds its star dealing with more reality-based, beleaguering topics, though the three main ladies in his life -- his mother, his ex-wife and his daughter, Hailie -- are once again the centerpieces. The disc's limited edition features a bonus DVD. Shaheem Reid